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Ian Taggart
Colonel Ian Taggart was the commanding officer of the United States Marine Corps deployed in Manhattan Island. Background Taggart regularly butted heads with General Peter Randall due to differing motivations. Taggart was assigned a command position for the ground troops stationed in New York City during the Blacklight virus outbreak, an assignment he dreaded. Following General Randall's order, Taggart issued a lock-down on Manhattan, which consisted of barricading the bridges linking to the mainland and fortifying major military bases throughout the city. Taggart believed the monumental task of containing the virus in such a large city was impossible and something his men were neither trained nor equipped for. He also resented the use of his men as pawns by Blackwatch. Still, Taggart obeyed Randall, knowing that the general was not forgiving of insubordination. Manhattan Outbreak Taggart demanded the military cut its losses by abandoning and nuking Manhattan, wiping out the virus from a distance. Randall reserved this action as a last resort measure, preferring to drive the virus out of the ground, largely for the purpose of recovering Elizabeth Greene undamaged. After realizing that Greene, a valuable asset to Blackwatch and Gentek, was killed & consumed by Alex Mercer, Taggart ordered evacuation of every ground forces stationed in the city. Not only was this order in direct conflict with General Randall's orders, it resulted in the significant loss of what control Blackwatch and the U.S Marines had managed to cling onto in the city. Up until then, Taggart might be seen as a brave man who cared deeply for his men's lives, risking reprisal from his superiors. Taggart's true colors show when Mercer, acting on information from Captain Cross, cut off the colonel's means of escape via air support and destroyed his well-defended base. Taggart fled in a Thermobaric tank while ordering as many of his Marines, and rogue Blackwatch personnel whom stayed loyal to Taggart, as possible to safeguard him. In doing so, he effectively sent his men to die to buy himself time. Eventually, Taggart, panicking, headed for the quarantine border, potentially jeopardizing the Manhattan quarantine and releasing the virus on the U.S., but Mercer ultimately cut him off and consumed him. This allowed Cross and Mercer to gain access to the [[USS Ronald Reagan|USS Ronald Reagan]] and General Randall. Node of Intrigue Trivia * According to the Official Prima Guide, Taggart managed to promote himself steadily, all the while avoiding being on the front-lines for any of Blackwatch's operations. This is strange given he is a Marine instead of a Blackwatch officer. * Ironically, his uniform resembles that of Blackwatch personnel, despite him being a Marine commander. In contrast, General Randall wears an outfit similar to Marines. One can say it's to blend in to the two factions. Another reason is to show Randall as the overall leader of the military units deployed during the First Outbreak and Taggart as little more than a pawn for Blackwatch. Category:Marine characters Category:Prototype Characters Category:Characters Category:Male Category:Deceased Category:Prototype Web of Intrigue Targets